BOONE, Iowa—The high profile projects in Boone this year have been the South Marshall Street paving project, the Industrial Park Road and many of the downtown buildings that participated in the Boone Downtown Incentive Fund. Maybe not as high profile, but still a necessary project is the painting of two water towers. Utility Superintendent Roy Martin says the J.R. Stelzer Company has completed work on the water tower at Greene and 10th Street. The tower has been tested and is back in service. Martin says the Greene Street tower is the oldest, built in 1936 and holds 350,000 gallons of water. Martin says the Greene Street Water Tower was last painted in 1993 at a cost of $60,000. This year, 20 years later, the price is $47,000 more, $107,000. The Stelzer Company has now moved to the Industrial Park Water Tower. That tower was constructed in 1972 and holds 500,000 of water. It was last painted in 1993 at a cost of $72,000. This year, that cost is $127,000, an increase of $55,000. Work on the Industrial Park water tower is expected to be completed within 3 weeks. Martin says if weather affects the work, painting will stop and the company will return in the spring and will start over with the cost coming out of their pockets.

To cover the cost of the work, the project was included in the City’s $2-million bond sale earlier this year. The portion dedicated to the water departments work will be paid by income from the water utility. Martin has calculated that once the painting, inspections and engineering costs are covered, there will be $50,000 available to use to meet new safety requirements

Boone’s oldest water tower at Greene and 10th Street has been repainted.